Detainees’ alibis not verified, remand extended

Wednesday, July 30, 2014, 17:11 The three Jewish youths were detained on Tuesday, July 29 on suspicion of involvement with an incident in which two Arab youths from Beit Hanina were beaten as they were spending time at a public park in the Jerusalem neighborhood of Neve Ya’akov.
The three detainees deny all charges and gave detailed alibis, including the names of witnesses who are able to verify their whereabouts at the time of the incident. The police have not verified the alibis. During their interrogation no evidence linking the detainees the incident was presented to them.
On Wednesday, July 30 the police requested a ten-day remand extension and during the deliberation it became clear that the police had not yet verified the detainees’ alibis. The court ordered a five-day remand extension despite the fact that an examination of the alibis could quickly bring about the detainees’ release. Additionally the court issued a gag order on the details of the detainees.
One of the detainees, who is being represented by Honenu attorney David HaLevi, had been scheduled to be called up for combat duty on Thursday, July 31, but due to his detention will not be able to report to the induction center.
“My client is a completely normative young man who is expected to be called up tomorrow to a combat unit,” said HaLevi in response. “His name has been linked to this incident even though he has no connection to it. My client cooperated under interrogation and gave an alibi. We estimate that after the police examine his alibi my client will be released from remand.”